Systems and methods for managing directory harvest attacks via electronic messages

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides an electronic message management system (EMS) that includes a real-time feedback loop where data is collected from the electronic messages on incoming connection attempts, outgoing delivery attempts, and message content analysis, and written to a centralized data matrix. A separate process accesses the data matrix and analyzes trends in that data. The detected data patterns, trends or behavior is based on configuration parameters for the recipient. Based on these determinations, the process is able to instruct components in the EMS to accept, redirect, refuse, modify, defer, or otherwise dispose of the connection request, the delivery attempt, or the message. Associated methods for managing the transmission of electronic messages are also disclosed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/908,060, filed Apr. 26, 2005, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/370,118, filed Feb. 19, 2003, and entitled“SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MANAGING THE TRANSMISSION OF ELECTRONICMESSAGES THROUGH ACTIVE MESSAGE DATA UPDATING,” now U.S. Pat. No.6,941,348, which is commonly assigned with the present Application andincorporated herein by reference for all purposes.

FIELD OF ACTIVITY

Disclosed embodiments herein relate generally to e-mail managementsystems and more particularly to e-mail management systems (EMSs)employing traffic monitoring and management, and for managing directoryharvest attacks attempted on destination mail servers using mass mailingof electronic messages.

BACKGROUND

E-mail management is commonly handled by ISPs that have user/subscribersor by companies that employ the e-mail users. A part of e-mailmanagement comprises filtering for spam or virus control, but when suche-mail management is performed at the ISP or at the company serverlocation, valuable communications bandwidth and computing resources areexpended on routing, analyzing, and other handling of spurious e-mailtraffic. Present e-mail management systems are further characterized bya lack of real-time monitoring, feedback, and updating of rulesregarding e-mail traffic or SMTP connection situations. Management andmonitoring of e-mail traffic situations is commonly handled throughhuman intervention.

Other present systems for blocking spam or viruses include systems thatpopulate decoy email addresses around the Internet, where the decoyemail addresses act as spam collectors. Human editors then review themessages that come in, catalog them, and create a database of suchjunk-mail messages and their checksums. The created database is thenpromulgated to subscribers of the service, and each message received atthe customer premises is checked against the virus/spam database. Again,in this instance, the detection and monitoring of the Internet for newvirus and spam messages is not in real time, and the customer premisemail server must still receive all of the spurious e-mails and thenanalyze all the incoming emails to see whether there is a match in thedatabase.

SUMMARY

To address the above-discussed deficiencies of the prior art, thepresent invention provides, in one aspect, a traffic monitor for usewith a computer process in managing the transmission of electronicmessages from sending mail servers to receiving mail servers, whereinmessages sent from the sending mail servers comprise source dataassociated with the sending mail servers and destination data associatedwith the receiving mail servers. In one embodiment, the traffic monitorincludes a data matrix for storing the source and destination data for aplurality of incoming electronic messages, and an interface coupled tothe matrix. In this embodiment, the interface is configured tofacilitate supplementing of the source and destination data withmetadata provided by the computer process and based on the plurality ofelectronic messages, and to facilitate access to the source anddestination data and the metadata for use in processing the plurality ofelectronic messages.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a method for use witha computer process in managing the transmission of electronic messagesfrom sending mail servers to receiving mail servers, wherein messagessent from the sending mail servers comprise source data associated withthe sending mail servers and destination data associated with thereceiving mail servers. In one embodiment, the method includescollecting and storing in real time, without completing the connectionprocess, the source and destination data for a plurality of incomingelectronic messages, and supplementing the source and destination datawith metadata provided by the computer process and based on theplurality of electronic messages. In addition, the method includesanalyzing and processing in the computer process the plurality ofelectronic messages based on the source and destination data and themetadata.

In a further aspect, the present invention provides an electronicmessage management system (EMS) for use in managing the transmission ofelectronic messages from sending mail servers to receiving mail servers,wherein messages sent from the sending mail servers comprise source dataassociated with the sending mail servers and destination data associatedwith the receiving mail servers. In one embodiment, the EMS includes atraffic monitor having a data matrix for storing the source anddestination data for a plurality of incoming electronic messages, and aninterface for facilitating access to the data matrix. Also, the EMSincludes a message handling process coupled to the interface andconfigured to supplement the source and destination data with metadataextrapolated from the plurality of electronic messages. In thisembodiment, the EMS still further includes an interpreter processcoupled to the interface and configured to access the source anddestination data and the metadata to generate processing instructionsbased thereon. In such an embodiment, the message handling process isfurther configured to process the plurality of electronic messages basedon the processing instructions.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a method for managingthe transmission of electronic messages from sending mail servers toreceiving mail servers, wherein messages sent from the sending mailservers comprise source data associated with the sending mail serversand destination data associated with the receiving mail servers. In oneembodiment, the method includes storing the source and destination datafor a plurality of incoming electronic messages in a data matrix, andextrapolating metadata from the plurality of electronic messages. Inaddition, the method includes supplementing the source and destinationdata with the metadata, and accessing the source and destination dataand the metadata via an interface. The method also includes generatingprocessing instructions based on the source and destination data and themetadata, and processing the plurality of electronic messages based onthe processing instructions.

In still a further embodiment, the present invention provides an EMS foruse in managing the transmission of electronic messages from sendingmail servers to receiving mail servers. In one embodiment, the EMSincludes a connection management module configured to extract sourcedata associated with the sending mail servers and destination dataassociated with the receiving mail servers from a plurality of incomingelectronic messages. In addition, the EMS includes a data matrix forstoring the source and destination data, and an interface coupledbetween the data matrix and the connection management module. In such anembodiment, the interface is configured to facilitate supplementing ofthe source and destination data with metadata extrapolated from theplurality of incoming electronic messages, and to facilitate access tothe source and destination data and the metadata. In such an embodiment,the connection management module is further configured to accept any ofthe plurality of incoming electronic messages from the sending mailservers based on the source and destination data and the metadata.

In a further embodiment, the present invention provides a method formanaging the transmission of electronic messages from sending mailservers to receiving mail servers. In one embodiment, the methodincludes extracting source data associated with the sending mail serversand destination data associated with the receiving mail servers from aplurality of incoming electronic messages. The method also includessupplementing the source and destination data with metadata extrapolatedfrom the plurality of electronic messages, and accepting any of theplurality of electronic messages from the sending mail servers based onthe source and destination data and the metadata.

In yet a further embodiment, the present invention provides an EMS foruse in managing the transmission of electronic messages from sendingmail servers to receiving mail servers. In one embodiment, the EMSincludes a data matrix for storing source data associated with thesending mail servers and destination data associated with the receivingmail servers for a plurality of incoming electronic messages. The EMSalso includes an interface coupled to the data matrix and configured tofacilitate supplementing of the source and destination data withmetadata extrapolated from the plurality of electronic messages, and tofacilitate access to the source and destination data and the metadata.In this embodiment, the EMS still further includes a delivery managementmodule coupled to the interface and configured to deliver any of theplurality of incoming electronic messages to the receiving mail serversbased on the source and destination data and the metadata.

In yet another embodiment, the present invention provides a method formanaging the transmission of electronic messages from sending mailservers to receiving mail servers. In one embodiment, the methodincludes storing source data associated with the sending mail serversand destination data associated with the receiving mail servers from aplurality of incoming electronic messages. The method also includessupplementing the source and destination data with metadata extrapolatedfrom the plurality of electronic messages. In such an embodiment, themethod further includes delivering any of the plurality of electronicmessages to the receiving mail servers based on the source anddestination data and the metadata.

The foregoing has outlined preferred and alternative features of thepresent invention so that those skilled in the art may better understandthe detailed description of the invention that follows. Additionalfeatures of the invention will be described hereinafter that form thesubject of the claims of the invention. Those skilled in the art shouldappreciate that they can readily use the disclosed conception andspecific embodiments as a basis for designing or modifying otherstructures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention.Those skilled in the art should also realize that such equivalentconstructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present invention, reference isnow made to the following detailed description taken in conjunction withthe accompanying drawings. It is emphasized that various features maynot be drawn to scale. In fact, the dimensions of various features maybe arbitrarily increased or reduced for clarity of discussion. Inaddition, it is emphasized that some components may not be illustratedfor clarity of discussion. Reference is now made to the followingdescriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a general block diagram generally describing e-mail deliveryover the Internet;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating possible placements of an activeE-Mail Management System in the Internet e-mail delivery path;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing in more detail the architecture andplacement in an e-mail delivery network of an electronic message E-mailmanagement system;

FIG. 4 is a more-focused block diagram of a message handling computerprocess, focusing on some of the elements of an EMS, and showing apossible routing of e-mail messages through this portion of the EMS;

FIG. 5 is an overview of an EMS in which multiple message handlingcomputer processes are connected to a single traffic monitor and itsassociated interpreter process;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment for a hierarchicaldivision of email management functions to be applied to destination IPaddresses that may be managed with an EMS constructed according to theprinciples disclosed herein;

FIG. 7 is a database structure forming a connection management tablethat can be used by the connection manager to act on events inconnection with a predetermined hierarchy;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a method for managing thetransmission of electronic messages, including writing data to andreceiving instructions from components of the EMS;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating the process flow for assigningcontrol instructions based on a sending IP address, and configurationparameters for the particular recipient in the organizational hierarchymanaged by the EMS;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating the process flow for the Interpreterprocess resource within an EMS;

FIG. 11 graphically illustrates data structures that can be employed inthe described embodiments for real-time traffic monitoring;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating the process flow for a SpoolDelivery resource for the described embodiments;

FIG. 13 is a screen shot of an example access page for an administrativeconsole for use with an EMS according to the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a screen shot of an example page for monitoring andconfiguring a connection manager used in an EMS according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 15 is a screen shot of another example page for a connectionmanager used in an EMS;

FIG. 16 is a screen shot of an example page for monitoring andconfiguring a delivery manager used in an EMS according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 17 is a screen shot of another example page for a delivery managerused in an EMS.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring initially to FIG. 1, illustrated is a prior art system 100 forthe delivery of e-mail messages through the Internet 101 or othercomputer network. Sending mail servers 102 a, 102 b (having associatedsource Internet protocol (IP) addresses) and receiving mail servers 102c, 102 d (having associated destination IP addresses), or other messagegateways, allow electronic messages, such as electronic mails (or“e-mails”) to be delivered to and from sending client machines 104 a-104d to receiving client machines 104 e-104 h, or other devices such ascell phones, pagers, and/or hand-held computers. In accordance withconventional systems, the transmission direction of the e-mails may alsobe reversed, where the sending machines and servers become the receivingmachines and servers and vice versa.

E-mail messages are typically composed by an application running on aclient machine 104. When composition of the message is completed, theuser uploads the completed message to a mail server 102. The mail server102 in one embodiment is owned by an Internet Service Provider (ISP) orby a private corporation for whom the user works. The user clientmachine 104 connects to the mail server 102 via dial-up, digitalsubscriber loop (DSL), cable Internet, or by other appropriate means.One standard for e-mail formats is described by RFC 822 obsoleted byRFC2822, which are a standard and a proposed standard, respectively,promulgated by Internet Engineering Task Force (“IETF”). The protocol bywhich e-mail messages are transmitted from sending mail server 102 toreceiving mail server 102 are described by RFC821, obsoleted by RFC2821, which are also a standard and a proposed standard, respectively,of the IETF. These standards can be found at www.ietf.org. The presentdisclosure hereby incorporates by reference the subject matter of theRFC 821 and RFC 822 standards and the RFC 2821 and RFC2822 proposedstandards. If the proposed standards are updated from the versionspublished in April 2001, it is the subject matter of the April 2001versions of these proposed standards that is hereby incorporated byreference. The RFC 821 and RFC 2821 documents describe a Simple MailTransport Protocol (“SMTP”), which is the protocol by which e-mailmessages have typically been transported over the Internet.

SMTP servers and SMTP clients (SMTP clients are network computers, notto be confused with the client machines 104) provide a mail transportservice, and therefore act as Mail Transfer Agents (“MTAs”). Mail UserAgents (“MUAs” or “UAs”) are normally thought of as the sources andtargets of mail. At the source, an MUA might be the source mail server102 a, 102 b that collects mail to be transmitted from a user and handsit off to an MTA within the network 101. The final (“delivery”) MTAwould be thought of as handing the mail off to an MUA, which might bethe destination mail server 102 c, 102 d that holds a user's mail in theuser's inbox.

The SMTP mail transport protocol uses domain names to route messagesfrom a sender to a receiver of e-mail. A distributed database of TCP/IPaddresses corresponding to particular domain names is maintained acrossthe Internet 101 in Domain Name Servers (“DNSs”) 108. Thus, to route ane-mail to its destination, the source mail servers 102 a, 102 b wouldgenerally take the address specified by the sending user and inquire ofa DNS server 108 the IP address to be assigned to the particularaddressed domain name. As used in this specification, an “address” is acharacter string that identifies a user to whom mail will be sent, auser or source that is sending mail, or a location into which mail willbe deposited. The term “mailbox” refers to that depository. The twoterms are typically used interchangeably unless the distinction betweenthe location in which mail is placed (the mailbox) and a reference to it(the address) is important. An address normally consists of user anddomain specifications; however, addresses may have different formsdepending on usage and type of address. The standard mailbox namingconvention is defined to be “local-part domain”; contemporary usagepermits a much broader set of applications than simple “user names”. Thelocal part of the address is typically interpreted and assignedsemantics only by the host specified in the domain part of the address.In contrast, the standard Internet Protocol (IP) address is typically aspecific string of numbers identifying a source or destination server.

Once the source mail server 102 a, 102 b lexically identifies a domainto which email will be delivered for processing, a DNS lookup, through aDNS server 108, is performed to resolve the domain name. The email 110is then sent from the source mail server 102 a, 102 b via the Internet101 to the identified domain.

Turning now to FIG. 2, illustrated is a block diagram 200 of anembodiment in which an active Electronic Message (e.g., E-Mail)Management System (EMS) 203 is provided between Internet 101 andreceiving mail server 202. The EMS 203 of the present invention is“active” and automated since it is constantly managing attemptedtransmissions of electronic messages without the need for humanintervention at various steps of the management process. In this sense,an EMS 203 according to the principles disclosed herein is automated,and configured to manage message delivery in real-time. The EMS systemis able to interpret conditions, analyze patterns, and manage thedelivery of data to the receiving server 202 by performing processingsteps as each of the SMTP connection between the sender and recipientare processed. Traditional e-mail servers will typically accept themessage data and write the message to disk prior to performing analysis.The EMS 203 is able to perform management steps at each stage of theSMTP transaction in order to minimize impact on the destination server202, while providing security and management. So that mail intended forthe mail server 202, and thus the receiving client's terminal 204, isrouted through the EMS 203, the numerical IP address in the DNS 108 thatis associated with the domain name of the targeted mail server 202 isupdated to reflect the numerical address of the EMS 203. For example,suppose the domain name of the mail server 202 is “anywhere.com” and thenumerical IP addresses for the mail server 202 and EMS 203 were“1234.5678.9876.5432” and “9876.5432.1234.5768,” respectively. Then therecords in the distributed DNS database 108 for “anywhere.com” would beupdated to reflect the EMS's numerical address “9876.5432.1234.5768,”rather than “1234.5678.9876.5432.”

Although this figure shows the EMS 203 as being physically adjacent tothe mail server 202, such placement is only for illustration purposes.The EMS 203 can be located anywhere on the Internet 101. It can also belocated either outside or within the mail server's 202 associatedfirewall 210, as shown by the optional positioning of the firewall 210at position “A” (outside the firewall) or at position “B” (inside thefirewall). Alternatively, the EMS 203 could possibly run on the samephysical machine as the mail server 202.

Looking now at FIG. 3, illustrated is a more detailed diagram, includinga block diagram 300 of the EMS 203. An administrative console web page316 (including its admin module 318), may be located on the sameparticular server machine as the actual EMS system 203 for providing anadministrative access tool to assist in configuring how the EMS 203processes incoming electronic messages. The connections between the EMS203 and the mail servers 102 a, 102 c may be made through Internet orSMTP connections. As previously mentioned, the EMS 203 could existinside or outside a particular firewall with or without one of the mailservers 102 a, 102 c.

Generally, the system shown in FIG. 3 handles mail from a “sending” mailserver 102 a. The designation of one mail server as a “sender” and theother as a “receiver” is arbitrary. Practically speaking, both mailservers 102 a, 102 c will generally act as both sender and receiver ofelectronic messages from and to the mail servers' 102 a, 102 c sendingand receiving clients 104 a, 104 e. In the embodiment shown, at leastone of the mail servers' 102 a, 102 c domain names will be associatedwith the EMS 203 in the DNS distributed database and its servers 108. Inembodiments employing the administrative console 316, the console 316receives information from the EMS 203 regarding the types of electronicmessages which are coming in for particular users or groups of users,such as information regarding the suspected viruses and spam e-mails,directory harvest attacks, or unwanted content or delivery attempts thathave been sent to the user or users. It is the administrative console316 that is employed to configure the parameters of filtering to beapplied by the EMS 203 for that user or organization. The administrativeconsole 316 receives information from the EMS 203 regarding trafficpatterns on the system, such as an inordinate number of e-mails beingsent from a certain domain or other suspicious traffic patterns. Theadministrative console 316 may be a web-based application having an“admin” software module 318 running on a web server or optionally on thesame intermediate platform as the EMS 203.

The EMS 203 is shown in FIG. 3 as including a message handling computerprocess 320 having a number of interconnected software modules. Thelayout of these various software modules in the message handling process320 is not indicative of any particular physical structure in themachine running these software modules. One module included within theprocess 320 is a connection management module, or simply a connectionmanager 322. The connection manager 322 is responsible for setting upand monitoring incoming SMTP connections from UAs/mail servers 102 a (orMail Transfer Agents). The connection manager 322 is the entry point tothe EMS 203, and it monitors the incoming SMTP connection attempts ande-mail messages. The process 320 is further connected to a trafficmonitor 340, which collects incoming SMTP connection data, messagemetadata, and message delivery information.

An interpreter process 350, which may be a particular type of softwaredaemon, is further provided. The interpreter process 350 interacts withthe data in the traffic monitor 340 to recognize patterns of messageswithin the traffic of messages that can be acted upon. Morespecifically, the connection manager 322, the email handler 326, theapplications 332 s, and a delivery management module (or simply adelivery manager 324), all comprising portions of the process 320, writesource and destination data, as well as metadata, to the traffic monitor340 during the processing of incoming messages. The source anddestination data is comprised of source data associated with the sendingmail server 102 a, and destination data associated with the receivingmail server 104 e. The metadata is extrapolated from the electronicmessages by the process 320 using the applications 332, which areprogram threads for detecting unwanted messages, such as specificmessages as defined by content type or size. Table 1 sets forth moredetailed examples of metadata generated by the EMS 203, but the list isnot intended to be exclusive.

TABLE 1 frontConnections The number of times that the source IP addresshas connected to the targeted organization in the last 60 secondsopenFrontConnections The number of connections from this IP address tothe organization currently open backConnections The number of times EMShas connected to the mailserver for the organization on behalf of thissource IP address in the last 60 seconds openBackConnections As withopenFrontConnections backendFailed Like backConnections, but records thenumber of failed connection attempts (used to detect down mail server)numMessages The number of messages which have been sent from the sourceIP address to users in this organization numSpam As above, but thenumber quarantined as spam numVirus As above, but the number quarantinedas having a virus conBlock, conBlackhole, The number of messages forwhich conman conSpool, conQtine dispositions of block (bounce),blackhole, spool, and quarantine have been applied for the source IPaddress/organization pair size Message size, in bytes; mean and standarddeviation frontDuration Duration of inbound connections; mean andstandard deviation backDuration Duration of outbound connections; meanand standard deviation numRecipients The number of recipients onmessages; mean and standard deviation Errors4 400-class errors betweensource IP address/organization Errors5 500-class errors between sourceIP address/organization summary per org The sum of traffic from allinbound IP addresses summary record per Record of when individualdestination org/mailhost mailhosts go down numAttachment The number ofmessages from the source IP address with unwanted attachments numContentThe number of messages from the source IP address with unwanted contentnumDeferred The number of temporary deferral errors from the destinationIP address numUnknown The number of unknown user errors from thedestination IP address

To determine patterns with the electronic messages, or even behavior ofthe user sending the messages, the interpreter process 350 analyzes boththe source and destination data and the metadata written into thetraffic monitor 340. For example, when a large number of messages arecoming in from the same outside UA mail server 102 a, this might beindicative of a spam attack or other denial of service or unwanteddelivery activity. The interpreter process 350 may notice such trendsthrough patterns of the source and destination data and the metadatastored in the traffic monitor 340, and initiate actions in the mailhandler 326 to block the offending e-mails. In an advantageousembodiment, the interpreter process 350 is a specific software daemoncreated for such tasks, but the present invention is not limited to anyparticular embodiment. Examples of other patterns or conditions that theinterpreter process 350 may detect based on the source and destinationdata and the metadata include, but are not limited to:

-   -   Directory harvest attack detection, where a statistically        significant percentage of delivery attempts are directed to        invalid users with the intent of compiling a list of valid        addresses on the server.    -   Email Bomb detection, where the same or similar message is        delivered repeatedly to the same user or group of users.    -   Spam Attacks, where a significant percentage of the data being        sent from a source IP address is spam or otherwise unwanted        e-mails.    -   Virus Attacks where a significant percentage of the data being        sent from a source IP address is virus-infected.    -   Denial of Service connection requests, where a sending IP        address is repeatedly connecting and holding the connection open        or not delivering meaningful data.    -   Unresponsive customer servers, where connection attempts fail        and messages should be redirected or spooled.    -   At-capacity customer servers, where the customer server is at        threshold capacity and should not receive additional messages.    -   Idle customer servers, where the idle customer servers may have        unused capacity and are able to accept more messages.    -   Next server, where the next e-mail server in the allocated        rotation of recipient servers should receive the next message.    -   Busy customer servers, where the customer server is returning a        deferral error suggesting that it is unable to process requests.

A database 360 is also provided in this embodiment to log the actions ofthe interpreter process 350 and/or the information about the filterede-mail, and to store configuration parameters for applying messageprocessing actions based on patterns recognized in the traffic monitor340. The administrative console 316 has access to the database 360 and,in turn, to the interpreter process 350, whereby the actions taken canbe reviewed and the system can be configured with regard to the actionsto be taken in certain types of circumstances.

Conceptually, at the other side of the process 320 is a delivery manager324, which has the ability to know, in real time, the state of receivingUA mail servers 102 c to which the EMS 203 is sending messages. Betweenthe connection manager 322 and the delivery manager 324 is the mailhandler 326, which manages the overall processes within the EMS 203. Themail handler 326 is conceptually connected to a Multipurpose InternetMail Extensions (MIME) decoder 328 and to an application interface 330.The application interface 330 provides an interface between the mailhandler 326 and applications 332, which will assist in writinginformation to the traffic monitor 340, which becomes the basis for themetadata.

Following a configuration established by rules stored in the database360, the interpreter process 350 will interpret patterns in the datastored in the traffic monitor 340, as described above, and updaterecords in a connection management table (conman table) 370. The conmantable 370 stores this message processing information, typically in theform of disposition instructions, which regulate how the connection anddelivery for incoming messages and for specific source IP addresses areto be processed. Examples of disposition instructions, appearing in theway of disposition flags in the records of the conman table 370,include, but are not limited to:

-   -   message accept    -   message reject    -   message quarantine    -   message spool    -   message defer    -   message throttle    -   message redirect    -   black hole.

In one example, if one particular address is known to be spamming, orsending otherwise undesirable messages, one particular customer, aConnection Management Record (conman record) is written to the conmantable 370 to reject or throttle SMTP connections, thus protecting theorganization. Thus, patterns and behavior can be identified based on thesource and destination data and the metadata, and connection managementrecords can be rolled up and applied for the entire customer base. Oncean offending condition has been identified, on subsequent similarrequests to deliver messages, the connection manager 322 queries theconman table 370 in order to determine if there are specificinstructions on handling the request from the sending IP address. Ifdisposition flags are present, the connection manager 322 then uses thedisposition instructions in the conman table 370 to dispose of themessage appropriately or to prevent a connection by the sending mailserver 102 a in the first place. Depending on the condition preventingtransmission of the message to the intended user, even if a connectionby the connection manager 322 is accepted, the delivery manager 324 maybe instructed by the interpreter process 350, via a delivery managertable 380, to dispose of the message appropriately. The delivery managertable 380 is similar to the conman table 370 in that the interpreterprocess 350 or each EMS process 203 writes message processinginstructions into the table 380 based on the data stored in the trafficmonitor 340. Disposition instructions that may appear in the deliverymanager table 380, rather than the conman table 370, include, but arenot limited to:

-   -   message deliver    -   message defer    -   message reject    -   message redirect.        A more detailed description of some of the components of the        message handler 326, as well as their function, is set forth        below with reference to FIG. 4.

Turning now to FIG. 4, illustrated is a more detailed software moduleblock diagram 400 of the message handling computer process 320. The mailhandler 326 in this embodiment includes a message processing server(MPS) 426, which is designed to be a fast, stateless mail handler. TheMPS 426 takes an incoming e-mail message 110 and can “scrape” or extractinformation from the message 110 as it is going by, i.e., withoutimposing a delay on the delivery of the message 110. The MPS 426 is alsoable to conditionally deliver messages via the delivery manager 324,either on its own accord or according to instructions from theinterpreter process 350 (see FIG. 3). For example, if the interpreterprocess 350 determines from the data in the traffic monitor 340 that aconnection attempt or group of connection attempts from a common sourceIP address is a directory harvest attack, the interpreter process 350can update the conman table 370 to instruct the connection manager 322to reject the connection. Alternatively, the interpreter process 350 mayupdate the delivery manager table 380 to instruct the delivery manager324 to otherwise dispose of the message. If an application, such as aspam detection application 332, returns the value of a message thatsuggests it is spam, the MPS 426, in coordination with the interpreterprocess 350, can configure the delivery of the message to route it to aquarantine website. The decisions on which electronic messages arepassed, diverted, deferred, etc. are made in part based on the metadatagenerated from the universe of incoming messages, and based on the waythe EMS 203 has been configured through the administrative console 316and the applications 332 selected for processing the messages.

Additional sub-modules are also shown in FIG. 4. In this embodiment,there is provided a metadata collector submodule 430 and an event sendersubmodule 432, which perform functions described with respect to theembodiment of FIG. 3 of collecting data from the electronic messagesentering the EMS 203 and of providing that information to the trafficmonitor 340. Although these submodules are shown associated with the MPS426, they could be separate software modules or they could be associatedwith the metadata collector 430. While the applications 332 do notspecifically write to the conman table 370, they may be configured, viathe application interface 330, to: a) process the message, b) updatedisposition flags based on process results, and c) deliver the metadatato the traffic monitor 340.

An additional feature of the embodiments described in FIGS. 3-4 is theability to tailor the delivery of e-mails according to the loading atthe destination UA email server 102 c. The deliver manager 324 candetect loading issues in the designation UA email server 102 c by, forinstance, delay by the server 102 c in acknowledging the receipt ofprevious e-mail messages. Thus, the output buffer relay 440 and spoolrelay 442 serve to spool outgoing messages based on detected loadingissues in the destination UA e-mail server 102 c.

Referring now to FIG. 5, illustrated is a block diagram 500 illustratingan embodiment where two or more message handling computer processes 320a, 320 b are each operating independently, but are connected to a singletraffic monitor 340 and conman table 370. Each process 320 a-n alsoshares data regarding the current open connections with the receivingserver. This shared delivery manager table 380 contains a current statusat any time of all messages in transit to the receiving server. Theprocesses 320 a, 320 b include event senders 432 a, 432 b, which sendmetadata to the traffic monitor 340 about the occurring events in thestreaming e-mail traffic. The traffic monitor 340 has an event listener502 that is the communications interface to the event senders 432 a, 432b of the processes 320 a, 320 b. The traffic monitor 340 and interpreterprocess 350 in this embodiment thus monitor and control multipleprocesses 320 a, 320 b, for multiple incoming streams of electronicmessages, as shown.

As an example of the organization of some of the data within the trafficmonitor 340, an exemplary data matrix, in the form of a data table 504,is shown. In this data table 504, incidences of e-mails from multiplesources to multiple destinations are arranged as a table, mapping alongthe rows, messages from particular sources, and along the columns,messages to particular destinations. Potential spam might show up in thetable 504, then, as an instance where a large percentage of thedestinations have received messages from a particular source, therebyappearing as a nearly full row in the table 504. The interpreter process350 then turns to the database 360 and consults the rules in thedatabase 360 by which the interpreter process 350 has been instructed tooperate through the configuration of those rules via the administrativeconsole 316.

The user thus configures the interpreter process 350 through thedatabase 360. Exemplary rules would include the definition of a spamattack (e.g., 100 or some other number of messages from a single IPaddress), and the actions to take on a spam attack, such as limiting thenumber of connections granted to the IP address or deleting all incominge-mails from that IP address. Other examples of situations prompting thecreation of message handling rules could be a virus attack, directoryharvest attack, e-mail bomb, etc., as stated above. Once the rules havebeen stored in the database 360, all the connection managers 322 a, 322b and delivery managers 324 a, 324 b associated with that database 360will use the configuration information in the database 360 and theconman table 370 on each message transaction, based on the destinationIP address, to ensure that they are operating under the most up-to-dateset of rules. The connection managers 322 a, 322 b, as previouslymentioned, provide event information to the traffic monitor 340 duringthis process.

The interpreter process 350, which monitors the traffic monitor 340, canin turn update the conman table 370 based on detected patterns in thetraffic monitor 340 that violate specified rules. Modules in thecomputer processes 320 a, 320 b then connect with the database 360, theconman table 370 and the traffic monitor 340 on each message transactionto receive the most current configuration and access restrictions setforth by the rules or with the delivery manager table 380, and getinstructions on delivery to the destination server based on currentconditions. Thus, the system can be constantly updating itself with themost recent connection and delivery information and thereby adapt, inreal-time, to changing loads of electronic message traffic, withouthuman review or intervention. The interpreter process 350 updates theconman table 370, which is queried by all of the connection managers 322a, 322 b in all of the MPSs 426 a, 426 b so they all simultaneously knowthe needed activity promulgated in the rules.

It is further possible to configure systems in which multiple deliverymanagers 324 a, 324 b and/or connection managers 322 a, 322 bcommunicate with one another, such that, for example, if one of thedelivery managers 324 a, 324 b notices that a destination mail server isslow, a delivery manager 324 a, 324 b notifies all the other deliverymanagers 324 a, 324 b to defer or slow down message delivery to theparticular destination server.

All transaction data is stored in Logs 506. The Logs 506 will keeprecords of all message transactions and parameters. In an exemplaryembodiment, detailed reports 508 are generated, perhaps on a dailybasis, on what servers sent what to certain destination addresses. Insuch an embodiment, this data may be presented in a graphical web-basedformat, or it may be downloaded as raw data by a user. Information onwhich the reports 508 may be generated include, but are not limited to,source IP address, message content type, message volume, recipientinformation, etc.

Alerts 510 may also be configured for informing an administrator(s) ofconditions regarding their system. For example, if the EMS 203 detects adirectory harvest attack, the interpreter process 350 will update theconman table 370 and generate an alert to the specified recipient. Inanother example, if a mail server goes down, the interpreter process 350will update the disposition flag in the conman table 370 to spool, andgenerate an alert to the specified recipient. As such, Alerts 510 can begenerated based on all conditions that the interpreter process 350identifies.

In one embodiment, in accordance with FIG. 6, a user database hierarchy600 is established whereby parameters for the identification anddisposition of managing connections and scanning message data, as wellas other events, can be tailored according to the position of the userwithin the hierarchy 600. All users within the system fall beneath thetop level 602 in the hierarchy, and thus there will be establishedcertain rules for all users in belonging to the system.

Beneath the top level 602, users may belong to subsidiary organizations,which are the customers 604 a-604 c to the top-level 602 administrator.For example, a user at Acme Corporation might have the e-mail addressuser1@acme.com, where the address acme.com is the top-level 602 domainserver address associated with Acme in the distributed DNS databaseservers 108. E-mails would be acted upon according to the top-level 602rules. Additionally, the specific rules of acme.com would be applied tothose users, because user1 as “customer #1” 604 a in the hierarchy wouldhave set forth its particular requirements. The particular requirementsof user1, however, would not be applied to the user groups associatedwith “customer #2” 605 b or “customer #3” 604 c.

Furthermore, sometimes organizations will have subsidiary organizations606 a, 606 b, thus resulting in different domain name, such ascorp.acme.com and usa.acme.com. The embodiments described herein allowfor custom rules to also be applied at successively lower hierarchicallevels without the need necessarily to implement a complete set ofpersonalized rules for each user, although such personalization is alsopossible.

Turning now to FIG. 7, illustrated is a database structure 700 that canbe used by a connection manager to act on events in connection with thehierarchy of FIG. 6. According to this database structure 700, conmanrecords 710 for use in a conman table 370 are organized by an InternalIdentifier (“IID”) 710 a, which is a record of where the recipientresides in the hierarchy 600, as well as which configuration parametersare set. Also illustrated are additional fields that can be included inthe conman records 710 for the starting IP address 710 b and the endingaddress 710 c for originating IP addresses of messages. Other exemplaryfields are the expiration time 710 d for the conman record 710, as wellas the disposition flag 710 e of the conman table 370, which is theaction to be taken by the connection manager 322 in response toparticular connection requests.

In this embodiment, it is the interpreter process 350 that creates theconman records 710 according to rules that have been set-up for userswithin the organizational hierarchy 600. Alternatively, conman records710 may also be created manually through the administrative console 316.These records 710 may be stored in the database 360 or in anotherdatabase accessible by the connection manager 322. A single IID may havemultiple records 710. These records 710 contain an expiration value 710d that allows blocked, throttled, or otherwise controlled sending mailservers, to retain status as legitimate senders without restriction, iftheir messaging practices are cleaned up. Once the expiration value 710d is reached, the connection manager 322 and MPS 426 will processindividual messages from that sender. If they are continuing to sendviruses, a new record 710 in the conman table 370 will be established.This process will repeat until the condition of the sender changes andthey begin sending legitimate email messages.

Also illustrated in FIG. 7 is a detailed record 720 a-i of possibledisposition flags 710 e within the conman table 370. The illustratedexamples are message accept 720 a, message reject 720 b, messagequarantine 720 c, message spool 720 d, message defer 720 e, messagethrottle 720 f, message redirect 720 g, connection rejection 720 h, andblackhole 720 i. Of course, the invention is not limited to thesespecific disposition flags 710 e.

Referring now to FIG. 8, illustrated is one embodiment of the operationof an MPS through an operational flowchart. As indicated in the diagram,along the entire process data resulting from the process is written intoa traffic monitor using various components of the MPS in the EMS, asdiscussed above in greater detail. That data may then be used by aninterpreter process to update information in a conman table employed bya connection management module, as well as in a delivery managementtable employed by a delivery management module. The process begins at astart step, and then moves to step 800, where a sender opens aconnection via a sender mail server in an attempt to send an electronicmessage, such as an e-mail, to a targeted user connected to a receivingmail server. At step 802, an EMS constructed according to the principlesdescribed herein intercepts the connection attempt by the sender, andreceives information from the sender, such as SMTP information (e.g.,sender's IP address).

At step 804, the EMS receives similar information, such SMTP information(e.g., the receiver's e-mail address), regarding the intended receiverof the message. Once both sets of data have been received by the EMS,the process moves to a step 806, where this data is compared withrecords in a connection management (conman) table. As discussed above,the records in the table may be updated by an interpreter process basedon information held in the data matrix of a traffic monitor. If anyblocks on transmissions from the sender have been instituted, a negativeresponse is given at step 806 and the transmission attempt is rejected.Alternatively, if the EMS has established that all messages from aparticular sender are not to be accepted, the process may move from step802, where the sender's SMTP information is received by the EMS, to step806, where the IP address of the sender is compared with potentialdisposition flags in the conman table. In this case, the transmissionattempt by the sender would be rejected without the need to receive thereceivers SMTP information at step 804.

At step 806, if no blocks against the sender are found in the conmantable, an affirmative response is given and the process moves to step808. At step 808, the intended recipient's information is validatedagainst a list of users in a user database or directory, as well as auser list in a destination server directory. If the attemptedtransmission does not contain valid recipient information, a negativeresponse is given at step 808 and the transmission is rejected. Also,even if a valid recipient is found in the user database, if therecipient information is not also validated against the user list in thedestination server database, the transmission may be rejected. Ifvalidation from both the user database and the destination serverdatabase is obtained, an affirmation response is given and the processmoves to step 810.

At step 810, a delivery manager table is queried to determine whetherthe intended message can be delivered to the destination server. Forexample, the delivery manager table may be queried to determine if thedestination server is capable of receiving the transmission or has it'sload limit been reached. If the destination server is not read toreceive the message, an affirmation response is given at step 810 andthe transmission attempt is deferred for delivery at a later time, oncethe destination server is ready to receive the message. If thedestination server is capable of receiving the message, a negativeresponse is given at step 810 and the process moves to a step 812. Asindicated in the diagram, data regarding the sender and recipient hasbeen written to the traffic monitor throughout this process.

At step 812, all of the data in the attempted transmission is receivedby the EMS, including header or other routing information, as well asthe data forming the intended electronic message to be delivered. Theprocess then moves to step 814, where the configuration profileestablished by rules set forth by, for example, configuration settingsfor the user or the organization, are read in order to determine how toprocess the message. At step 816, applications are employed to performanalysis of the message data to identify unwanted, prohibited ordamaging messages. Metadata associated with the results of thisprocessing is written to the traffic monitor and used by the interpreterprocess to determine patterns or conditions used to establish connectionand delivery guidelines. Examples of the metadata created by using theapplications are set forth above in Table 1.

Once the applications have completed the analysis, the process moves tostep 818, where the results of the application processing are comparedagainst the contents of the configuration database. If the results ofthe application processing suggest an alternate disposition flag thanthe flag currently available for the message, a new disposition flag isinserted. At step 820, the results from step 818 are compared to anydisposition flags assigned to the message as were set forth in theconman table. If, at step 820, a disposition flag indicating theattempted transmission will not be accepted at this time, the processmoves to the appropriate step corresponding with the existingdisposition flag in the conman table. More specifically, if the messageis to be spooled, the process moves to step 822. If the message is to bequarantined, the process moves to step 824. If the message is to be sentto a “black hole”, the process moves to step 826. If the message is tobe deferred, the process moves to step 828. If the message is to beredirected, the process moves to step 830.

However, if, at step 820, the records in the conman table establish thatthe transmission is to be accepted, the process moves to step 832. Atstep 832, the message is transmitted to the intended destination sever.At step 834, the message is received by the destination server. At step836, the destination server sends an acknowledgment of receipt of themessage (an “ACK”) back to the EMS to acknowledge receipt of the messagefrom the delivery manager in the EMS. Finally, at step 838, the EMStransmits an ACK of transmission back to the original sender of themessage to inform the sender that the message has been transmitted tothe targeted user. The process then ends.

Those who are skilled in the art will understand that the practice ofthe proposed process is not limited to the specific steps set forth inFIG. 8. Thus, a greater or lesser number of steps may be employed.Additionally, steps having greater or lesser detail than thoseillustrated in FIG. 8 may also be employed to advantage.

Turning now to FIG. 9, illustrated is a flow diagram 900 setting forthone embodiment of the procedures employed by the connection manager 322for use in managing incoming electronic messages. More specifically, thediagram 900 illustrates assigning control instructions based on asending IP address, and configuration parameters for the particularrecipient in the organizational hierarchy managed by the EMS 203. Theconnection manager 322 is initiated into operation by the MPS 426, eachtime the MPS 426 detects a new “RCPT” command identifying a newrecipient in the traffic stream. The initial operating condition of theconnection manager 322 is thus shown in the diagram 900, at step 902. Atstep 904, the connection manager 322 queries the conman table 370 forrecords having an IID that corresponds to the new recipient. If, atdecision block 906, it is determined that the conman table 370 containsan entry for the particular IID, control is passed to a secondarycontrol loop in which each IID record is read (step 908), examined tosee whether it is still active or expired (step 910), and acted upon(step 912). A single IID may have multiple records, and so the aboveactions in steps 908-912 are repeated as shown in the diagram 900, aslong as there are additional records for the IID as reflected atdecision block 914.

As shown in FIG. 9, a particular recipient may fit at a certain levelwithin a hierarchy, and the particular connection actions can betailored in this method according to each of these hierarchical levels.Accordingly, at step 916, the particular IID is examined for itsmembership at a next higher hierarchical level. If there are connectionmanager 322 records in the conman table 370 that are associated with theparticular IID at this hierarchical level, then according to the flow ofthe process for decision step 918, the actions of the loop, steps908-914 are repeated for all of the actions associated with the IID atthe higher level. As before, once all actions associated with a givenIID at this hierarchical level have been carried out, then controlreturns to the decision step 920, whereupon the IID relative to thehierarchical levels is examined to see whether the top hierarchicallevel has been reached. If the highest hierarchical level has beenreached, the connection manager 322 returns control to the MPS 426.

Connections may be characterized as a pair of endpoints—sender andrecipient. The connections can be managed based on the sender/recipientpair, or they may be managed based on just the recipient identifier. IPaddress ranges can be used to specify senders and/or recipients, anddepending on the location of the indefiniteness, the ranges orindefiniteness can also be used to specify where a particular IP addressbelongs within a hierarchy. The IP address's membership in sets definedby certain IP address ranges can also be used to define that address'shierarchical organization memberships.

Connection management records may be inserted on a per-organizationbasis within the hierarchy, and they may be inherited from higher-levelorganizations down to lower-level organizations. As described withrespect to the process flow of FIG. 9, the records can be processed in abottom-up fashion, from a particular organization up to the rootorganization. When multiple records are present at a singleorganization, they may be processed in expire-time order, with the onesexpiring at the latest date being examined first. Alternatively, theymay be processed in a different order depending on how the process isdefined.

Although there are many types of actions or dispositions that can betaken based on the connection requested, as discussed above, some of thecommon ones include the following:

-   -   ERROR: An error message is specified and passed back to the        sender (e.g., “Error 501—unknown user”).    -   QUARANTINE: The message will be quarantined under a specified        reason (e.g., obscene, pornographic, or virus-infected).    -   BLACKHOLE: The message will appear to be delivered (i.e., a        delivery confirmation is passed to the sender), but will not        really go anywhere. Unless further modifications are made,        another application may still cause the message to be        quarantined.    -   ACCEPT: The message will be accepted and forwarded to the        destination server. Unless further modifications are made,        another application may still block the message.    -   SPOOL: the email server corresponding to the IID is not        responsive, and therefore messages should be written to the        spooler        As described above, the connection manager 322 handles the        accepting and making of requested connections in electronic        message transactions. The dispositions described above can be        implemented by the connection manager 322 by manual        configuration through the administrative console 316, or they        can be automatically implemented by the interpreter process 350        or another software module. As with the process of FIG. 8, the        practice of the process illustrated in FIG. 9 is not limited to        the specific steps set forth therein. Thus, a greater or lesser        number of steps may be employed. Additionally, steps having        greater or lesser detail than those illustrated in FIG. 9 may        also be employed to advantage.

Looking now at FIG. 10, illustrated is an operational flow diagram 1000of the interpreter process 350, which was also generally described inthe text accompanying FIGS. 3-4. Execution of the process flow for theinterpreter process 350 begins at step 1002, which is the sleep statefor the process. After a certain period of time, e.g., fifteen seconds,execution of the program flow moves to step 1004. At step 1004, the EMS203 configuration is updated for all the organizations for which the EMS203 is responsible. This process may be referred to as“synchronization.” At step 1006, the interpreter process 350 begins toanalyze the traffic events occurring for each organization identified instep 1004. As a part of this action, the EMS 203 evaluates the trafficevents occurring as reflected in the data stored in the traffic monitor340.

The process flow continues at step 1010, where the EMS 203 evaluates theevent conditions for the particular EMS 203 event rule for theorganization under consideration. At decision step 1012, the interpreterprocess 350 software queries whether the particular rule is an activeone. If the rule is not active, the process flow goes to decision step1014, whereupon the software module queries whether there are more EMS203 event rules to be processed for the particular organization. Ifthere are no further EMS 203 event rules for the particularorganization, the process flow proceeds to decision step 1016, at whichthe software module queries whether there are additional EMS 203organizations for which the EMS 203 events should be processed. If thereare no additional EMS 203 organizations to process, the software modulereturns operation to the sleep mode at step 1002, which was thebeginning of this process flow. If, however, there are additional EMS203 organizations having EMS 203 event rules to be processed, thenoperation would return to step 1006, at which the software module willagain begin the process of evaluating the EMS 203 traffic against theEMS 203 event rules for this other organization.

Again at step 1010, the event conditions are evaluated against each EMS203 event rule. If, in this case, at decision step 1012 the rule isactive, the software flow would proceed to step 1020. At step 1020, theinterpreter process 350 evaluates each traffic cell, where a trafficcell is a single connection between a source and a destination, and isrepresented in the traffic monitor 340 by a single cell in the datatable 504. At decision step 1022, if a positive result of the evaluationof the particular traffic cell at step 1020 is positive (“result greaterthan one”), then execution of the interpreter process 350 algorithmcontinues to decision step 1024. At decision step 1024, the rule stateis evaluated to see whether it has previously been triggered. If it hasnot, at step 1026, the event execution is begun. If the rule state hasalready been triggered, then execution of the event will continue atstep 1028. In either case operation continues at step 1030, at whichtime a process is begun for “firing” the actions that are associatedwith particular event states.

At decision step 1032, the interpreter process 350 queries whether thatparticular action associated with the event already has a stateassociated with it in the process execution. If no, the interpreterprocess 350 then queries whether the particular action should be delayedat decision step 1034. If the action should not be delayed, at step1036, the particular action is “fired” and a state is set indicating theactivation of that action. Next, at decision step 1038, the interpreterprocess 350 queries whether there are additional actions to fire. If so,execution returns to step 1030; in this loop, steps 1030 to 1039continue until all actions associated with a particular event have beenprocessed. Once there are no more actions to “fire” at step 1038,execution proceeds to decision step 1040, whereupon the interpreterprocess 350 software examines whether there are more traffic cells to beevaluated. If there are additional traffic cells to evaluate, theprocess returns to step 1020. If there are no more traffic cells toevaluate, the process returns to decision step 1014, at which it isdetermined whether there are additional EMS 203 rules to be processed.Based on this decision, the process can continue at previously describedsteps 1010 or 1016.

Again evaluating the traffic cells at step 1020, if there is not apositive result at decision step 1022, the process proceeds to step1050, at which the interpreter process 350 queries whether theparticular rule state was previously ON. If not, there is no particularaction to take with respect to this rule state, and the processing oftraffic cells can continue at decision step 1040. If, however, the rulestate had previously been ON, but is now OFF, which is the situationindicated by a positive result at decision step 1050, then the processproceeds to step 1052 to evaluate the ending procedures for thatparticular rule state. If a positive result occurs at decision step1054, then the event end for the particular rule state is processed atstep 1056. If, however, there is not an end process to execute asindicated by a negative result at decision step 1054, then the algorithmof the interpreter process 350 will continue to process additionaltraffic cells through decision step 1040 and its subsequent branches.

Now looking at FIG. 11, illustrated are data structures that can beemployed in an embodiment of the EMS 203 for the real-time monitoring oftraffic in the traffic monitor 340. As was shown in FIG. 5, in someembodiments, multiple message handling computer processes 320 a, 320 bare employed, whereby multiple connections to a single traffic monitor340 and interpreter process 350 are processed in parallel. FIG. 11 showsthe MPSs 426 a-426 d of multiple such computer processes 320 a, 320 bconnected to a single ring buffer 1102, which ultimately provides datain this embodiment for a single traffic monitor. The MPSs 426 a-426 dsend their data to the ring buffer 1102 in small, asynchronous blocks ofdata. The data may be tagged with a time and a session ID in eachinstance. For example, each block of data might be tagged with a header,“SID8, 00:02,” which would indicate that the session ID is sessionnumber 8, and the time for the receipt of the data is 00:02. The sessionIDs and times shown in this example are merely examples, and session IDsinto the hundreds or thousands could be used. In addition, timeindicators as precise as thousandths of a second or less could also beused.

The ring buffer 1102 holds all the data generated by the connectionmanagers 322, delivery managers 324, MPSs 426 a-426 d, and, in thisexample, it sorts the data in SID order, which reduces searchingoverhead during insertion into a later intermediary format and may alsoprovide efficiency when storing data into the ring buffer 11102. Fromthe ring buffer 1102, the traffic monitoring data is then stored into anintermediary data structure 1110. In this intermediary data structure1110, the data is placed into groups 1120 associated with the sessionIDs, where the groups 1120 have records for each connection (C1, C2 . .. CN), and for each message (M1, M2, M3 . . . ) sent over eachconnection. This data is continually updated with new data from the ringbuffer 1102, and it is continually refreshed when the data is older thanthe data stored in the actual traffic monitor data matrix 1130.

The structure of the data matrix 1130 is only an exemplary format forthe traffic monitor data matrix 1130, and is maintained for access bythe interpreter process 350. Use of the intermediary data structure 1110allows for a more compact traffic monitor data matrix 1130, which can bestructured so as to have no empty cells. The data matrix 1130 isarranged with different IIDs (destinations) populating different rowsand with differing Source IPS (SIPs, or sources) as the differingcolumns within each row. By individually structuring each row withindependent column entries for the SIPs, it is possible to build thisdata table or matrix 1130 as shown in FIG. 11, with no empty cells.Then, within each cell, different statistics can be provided, and theinterpreter process 350 will be able to recognize certain activity basedon the information stored in those cells.

It may be desirable for both the interpreter process 350 and otherresources to have access to the traffic monitor data matrix 1130. Atleast two different mechanisms can be provided to allow access to thecontents of the data matrix 1130—direct and polled. Through directaccess, the interpreter process 350 can lock up a given cell of the datamatrix 1130 to read that cell's data in real time. Through polledaccess, a process can be provided for multiple resources to requestaccess to data in the data matrix 1130 via a network. The data matrix1130, or a process associated with the data matrix 1130, can arbitratethe requests, and at certain periods can lock the requested data in thedata matrix 1130, and access and send that data to the requestingresources. The data can be requested as raw data, summary data, or itcan be requested by a customer mailhost.

Thus, the presently described system has the ability to map in a datamatrix, in real time, all incoming requests and requested destinations,all relevant message parameters (spam, virus, recipients, connectiontime, data size, destination server return code, etc), as well as tomonitor the connection/destination matrix in real time for any number ofrecipient email addresses or mail servers across multiple customers, andto immediately initiate action automatically based on a real-timemonitoring of the state of the traffic monitor data matrix 1130. Othersystem abilities possessed in the described embodiments include theability to recognize, in real time, all SMTP connections that are beingoriginated in order to request a connection to a recipient mail system,and not just necessarily a single server. The described EMS is also ableto use matrix data from one customer/recipient to modify actions foranother. For example, if the EMS recognizes a “spammer” based on itsactions towards one customer group, the EMS is also able to prevent spamfrom that source from reaching other destinations.

Thus, the EMS described herein can handle, filter, and monitor, andreact against, in real time, many incoming connections. The EMS is alsooperable, however, to tune the delivery of messages to a destinationmail server based on the loading in that server or on other conditions.It can balance loads among multiple destination servers, spool outgoingmessages to destination servers in a controlled manner, andconditionally deliver messages to destination servers based on differentconditions.

Looking next at FIG. 12, illustrated is a spool manager comprising threeMPSs, as described below. The Spool Delivery Manager is invoked by anMPS plug-in that runs on the message handling computer process of theEMS, and works in harmony with the connection manager to determinewhether or not messages should be spooled. With reference to FIG. 12,the Spool Delivery Manager functions as follows:

-   -   1) To initiate spooling, a SPOOL connection management record        must be inserted for an organization, either manually through        the UI or automatically by the interpreter process, if it        detects the organization mail server is unreachable.    -   2) The connection manager assigns a SPOOL tag to each message        sent to an organization for which there exists a SPOOL        connection management record in the conman table.    -   3) The Spool Delivery Manager examines each incoming message for        a “Spool” tag.    -   4) If a Spool tag exists for a message, the Spool Delivery        Manager blocks the message from being delivered, and instead        relays the message to a spool server using the Spooler.

The Spooler is a modified MPS application running on the spool serverthat accepts messages from the Spool Delivery Manager, and stores themin a spool repository. With reference to FIG. 12, the Spooler functionsas follows:

-   -   1) The Spooler waits for an SMTP connection request from the        Spool Delivery Manager.    -   2) Each incoming SMTP command, including the raw message data,        is stored in the organization's (i.e., recipient's) spool        repository.    -   3) If the spool size reaches one of several predefined spool        size checkpoints (e.g. 75% of capacity), an alert notification        is generated.    -   4) If after storing the message, the spool size exceeds the        maximum allocated spool size for the organization, an alert        notification is generated, and the spool connection management        record is removed, preventing subsequent messages from being        spooled.    -   5) If a spool tag exists for a message, the Spool Delivery        Manager blocks the message from being delivered, and instead        relays the message to the spool server using an SMTP connection.

The Despooler is also a modified MPS application running on the spoolserver that accepts messages from the Spool Delivery Manager, and storesthem in a spool repository. To this end, the Despooler functions asfollows:

-   -   1) The Despooler waits for an SMTP connection request from the        Spool Delivery Manager.    -   2) Each incoming SMTP command, including the raw message data,        is stored in the traffic monitor.    -   3) Spool Delivery Manager in order to maintain proper connection        limiting to the organization.    -   4) If the message is rejected by the organization, the Despooler        will bounce the message to the original sender.    -   5) If a message is successfully delivered, it is tagged        “delivered” in the spool repository.        Steps 2-5 are repeated until all messages in the spool        repository have been delivered.

Referring now to FIG. 13, illustrated is a screen shot 1300 of anexample access page for an administrative console for use with an EMSaccording to the present invention. As shown from the access page isavailable to users and/or system administrators for monitoring ofstatistics and alarms occurring in their electronic messaging networks.In addition, the access page may be employed by users and/or systemadministrators for the configuration of rules employed by the EMS tomanage the transmission of electronic messages. The particular accesspage shown here includes multiple access tabs, including “ConnectionMgr”, “Delivery Mgr”, “Spool Mgr”, Alerts” and “Reports”. In addition toaccessing these individual components of the EMS, the access page inFIG. 13 provides status of the individual components, as well as anoverview of the flow of electronic messages into the system.

Turning briefly to FIG. 14, illustrated is a screen shot 1400 of anexample page for monitoring and configuring a connection manager used inan EMS according to the present invention. As shown, this access pagedisplays the status of the connection manager in an EMS, as well asproviding statistics of particular transmission violations that haveoccurred. Although the particular offending activities illustrated areonly directory harvest attacks, virus outbreaks, e-mail bombs and spamattacks, the access page may be configured to illustrated statistics ofother types of offending behaviors without limitation.

FIG. 15 is a screen shot 1500 of another example access page for aconnection manager used in an EMS of the present invention. As shown,this access page provides definitions for specific offending actions ofincoming electronic messages to assist users in configuring the EMS astheir needs arise. In addition, this access page also includes variousdetection and prevention selections, allowing users a broader range ofchoices for the management of their incoming electronic messages.

Looking at FIG. 16, illustrated is a screen shot 1600 of an example pagefor monitoring and configuring a delivery manager used in an EMSaccording to the present invention. This access page displays the statusof the delivery manager in an EMS, as well as providing statistics ofparticular delivery (or non-delivery) actions taken by the EMS inresponse to offending activities of incoming messages. In addition, thisaccess page allows users to monitor the status of distinct destinationservers, for example, to determine the free capacity of such destinationservers.

Turning finally to FIG. 17, illustrated is a screen shot of anotherexample page for a delivery manager used in an EMS. As shown, thisaccess page allows the user to configure specific details of theindividual destination servers shown in FIG. 16. Configurationparameters that may be altered through this access page includeconnection capacities, as well as adding new destination servers to theEMS to enjoy the protection provided by the present invention.

While various embodiments of an EMS constructed according to theprinciples disclosed herein, as well as specific components of the EMS,have been described above, it should be understood that they have beenpresented by way of example only, and not limitation. Thus, the breadthand scope of the invention should not be limited by any of theabove-described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only inaccordance with the following claims and their equivalents issuing fromthis disclosure. Furthermore, the above advantages and features areprovided in described embodiments, but shall not limit the applicationof such issued claims to processes and structures accomplishing any orall of the above advantages.

Additionally, the section headings herein are provided for consistencywith the suggestions under 37 CFR 1.77 or otherwise to provideorganizational cues. These headings shall not limit or characterize theinvention(s) set out in any claims that may issue from this disclosure.Specifically and by way of example, although the headings refer to a“Technical Field,” such claims should not be limited by the languagechosen under this heading to describe the so-called technical field.Further, a description of a technology in the “Background” is not to beconstrued as an admission that technology is prior art to anyinvention(s) in this disclosure. Neither is the “Brief Summary” to beconsidered as a characterization of the invention(s) set forth in issuedclaims. Furthermore, any reference in this disclosure to “invention” inthe singular should not be used to argue that there is only a singlepoint of novelty in this disclosure. Multiple inventions may be setforth according to the limitations of the multiple claims issuing fromthis disclosure, and such claims accordingly define the invention(s),and their equivalents, that are protected thereby. In all instances, thescope of such claims shall be considered on their own merits in light ofthis disclosure, but should not be constrained by the headings set forthherein.

1. A method of managing the transmission of electronic messages fromsending mail servers to destination mail servers, the method comprising:receiving, at a computer-server-implemented message management systemlocated on a first network and interposed between the sending anddestination mail servers, a plurality of delivery attempts of electronicmessages from a sending mail server to a destination mail server beforethe plurality of delivery attempts are received at a second networkhaving the destination mail server, wherein the second network isdifferent from the first network; detecting a number of the plurality ofdelivery attempts unsuccessfully made to invalid destination addressesassociated with the destination mail server; and refusing an SMTPconnection attempt from the sending mail server using the messagemanagement system and based at least in part on the detected number ofdelivery attempts unsuccessfully made to the invalid destinationaddresses.
 2. A method according to claim 1, wherein detecting comprisesdetermining that the number of the plurality of delivery attempts madeto invalid destination addresses compared to the number of deliveryattempts made to valid addresses associated with the destination mailserver exceeds a predetermined threshold.
 3. A method according to claim1, wherein refusing a connection from the sending mail comprisesextracting source data associated with the sending mail server.
 4. Amethod according to claim 3, wherein refusing a connection from thesending mail further comprises extracting the source data from at leastone of the electronic messages attempted for delivery to an invaliddestination address.
 5. A method according to claim 4, wherein thesource data comprises the source IP address of the sending mail server.6. A method according to claim 4, wherein the source data comprisesdomain data based on the sending mail server.
 7. A method according toclaim 1, further comprising: storing the detected number of theplurality of delivery attempts made to invalid destination addresses ina data structure; and managing the transmission of the electronicmessages using at least information stored in the data structure todetermine which messages are likely solicited and unsolicited byintended recipients.
 8. A method according to claim 1, wherein thedetected number of the plurality of delivery attempts made to invaliddestination addresses comprises metadata.
 9. A method according to claim7, wherein the data structure comprises a data table mapping source datafor the plurality of electronic messages against destination data forthe plurality of electronic messages, the method further comprisingsupplementing the source and destination data with the metadata.
 10. Amethod according to claim 1, wherein the message management systeminterposed between the sending and destination servers comprises a firstSMTP connection to the sending server and a second, distinct SMTPconnection to the destination server when the connection attempt is notrefused.
 11. A method according to claim 1, wherein the messagemanagement system interposed between the sending and destination serverscomprises an intermediate mail server which intercepts the at least oneincoming electronic messages.
 12. A method according to claim 11,wherein the intermediate mail server performs the refusing of the SMTPconnection attempt from the sending mail server.
 13. A method accordingto claim 11, wherein the intercepting comprises intercepting the atleast one incoming electronic message by associating a new deliveryaddress with the original delivery address associated with the at leastone incoming electronic message.
 14. A method according to claim 1,wherein the destination addresses are in e-mail address format.
 15. Amethod according to claim 14, wherein the invalid destination addresseshave the same domain name as the valid destination addresses.
 16. Anelectronic message management system for use in managing thetransmission of electronic messages from sending mail servers todestination mail servers, the system comprising: acomputer-server-implemented message management system comprising acomputer-processor implemented intermediate service located on a firstnetwork configured to intercept at least one of the electronic messagesbetween a sending mail server and a destination mail server before theat least one of the electronic messages are received at a second networkhaving the destination mail server, wherein the second network isdifferent from the first network; and a connection management moduleassociated with the computer-processor implemented intermediate service,the connection management module configured to: detect a number of theplurality of delivery attempts unsuccessfully made to invaliddestination addresses associated with the destination mail server, andrefuse an SMTP connection attempt from the sending mail server using thecomputer-server-implemented message management system and based at leastin part on the detected number of delivery attempts unsuccessfully madeto the invalid destination addresses.
 17. A system according to claim16, wherein the detected number of the plurality of delivery attemptsmade to invalid destination addresses compared to the number of deliveryattempts made to valid addresses associated with the destination mailserver exceeds a predetermined threshold.
 18. A system according toclaim 16, wherein the connection management module is further configuredto extract source data associated with the sending mail server in orderto refuse a connection from the sending mail server.
 19. A systemaccording to claim 18, wherein the source data is extracted from atleast one of the electronic messages attempted for delivery to aninvalid destination address.
 20. A system according to claim 19, whereinthe source data comprises the source IP address of the sending mailserver.
 21. A system according to claim 19, wherein the source datacomprises domain data based on the sending mail server.
 22. A systemaccording to claim 16, further comprising: a data structure associatedwith the intermediate service for storing the detected number of theplurality of delivery attempts made to invalid destination addresses,the connection management module refusing a connection from the sendingmail server using at least information stored in the data structure todetermine which messages are likely unsolicited by intended recipients.23. A system according to claim 16, wherein the detected number of theplurality of delivery attempts made to invalid destination addressescomprises metadata.
 24. A system according to claim 23, wherein the datastructure comprises a data table mapping source data for the pluralityof electronic messages against destination data for the plurality ofelectronic messages, wherein the connection management module is furtherconfigured to supplement the source and destination data with themetadata.
 25. A system according to claim 16, wherein the intermediateservice is within an intermediate mail server.
 26. A system according toclaim 16, wherein the intermediate service is configured to interceptthe at least one the electronic messages by associating a new deliveryaddress with the original delivery address associated with the at leastone electronic message.
 27. A system according to claim 16, wherein thedestination addresses are in e-mail address format.
 28. A systemaccording to claim 27, wherein the invalid destination addresses havethe same domain name as the valid destination addresses.
 29. A methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the first network is the Internet.
 30. Amethod according to claim 1, wherein the first network is a first localarea network and the second network is a second local area network. 31.A method according to claim 1, wherein the second network is associatedwith an organization.
 32. A system according to claim 16, wherein thefirst network is the Internet.
 33. A system according to claim 16,wherein the first network is a first local area network and the secondnetwork is a second local area network.
 34. A system according to claim16, wherein the second network is associated with an organization.